Approved Final TMDLs

Final TMDLs Approved by EPA: Town Creek, Lower Choptank River

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Town Creek is part of the Maryland Sub-Watershed identified by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as 02130403 (Lower Choptank River drainage area). Its headwaters originate in Oxford near the intersection of MD Route 333 with Morris Avenue. It finally drains to the Choptank River through the Tred Avon River. The creek is approximately 1.2 miles(1.9 km) in length.

The Lower Choptank River watershed (02130403) was first identified on the 1996 303(d) list of water quality limited segments submitted to the EPA by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). The watershed was listed as impaired by nutrients, fecal coliform, and suspended sediment. The list acknowledged that only a portion of the watershed might be impaired, and that with additional information, the spatial boundaries of the impairment could be refined. Water quality data collected in 1998 indicates dissolved oxygen (DO) impairments in Town Creek. Additional analysis revealed also that the Creek is nutrient impaired. These support the 303(d) listing of the Lower Choptank River. This document establishes TMDLs for a portion of the Choptank River watershed: Town Creek, a tributary of the Tred Avon River, which flows into the Choptank River. The TMDLs described in this document were developed to address localized water quality impairments identified within the watershed, specifically biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and nutrients stressors in Town Creek. The suspended sediment, nutrient and fecal coliform impairments within the other portions of the Lower Choptank River watershed will be addressed separately at a future date.

TMDL of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Nitrogen and Phosphorus for Town Creek into which the Town of Oxford Wastewater Treatment Plant Discharges Talbot County, Maryland